Glass plate and sandpaper questions ???

DavidZ

DavidZ

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Oct 30, 2004
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I have read about people using this as an option over arkansas stones for sharpening on the forums, and have a few questions. I use the sandpaper and mouse pad for my convex edges now, so I believe it will work well for beveled edges. But just to clarify,.......

How large of a piece of glass do you use, and what thickness?
Is it regular house pane glass, or some special tempered stuff?
Do you have the edges beveled? or rounded?
Do you have rubber feet on the bottom?
Is it really better than an Arkansas Stone?
Can you get it on the internet?
If yes where?
Can anyone post pics of their set-up?
What adhesive do you use?

I know this is a lot of detailed questions, but I know my fellow forumites will have the answers! :)

Thanks
Dave
 
David, you can get a scrape piece of thick glass (1/4") for cheap (2$) at most any glass cutting business (2X11"). By glueing aluminum oxide wet dry paper to it, it will cut far quicker than a Arkansas stone and your can get finer grits . Different materials can be obtained as well zucronium and SiC making the set up as good as a Norton stone and others .
The Arkansas stones cut slow and are not high hardness (7 Mohs) so, this set up is far better and is flatter . Whereas some Arkansas stones need flattening even new . Remember sharpening on the sandpaper is a trailing stroke like stropping . I use rubber cement . DM
 
I've been thinking about doing something similar, but have not followed through just yet. I figured I'd just get a piece of scrap glass about the same size and shape as the paper (why not?) and use Elmer's or some other water-soluble glue to hold the paper in place. I presume the folks at the glass place could offer advice on what sort of glass would be safest to handle. If it's cheap, might was well get a couple of them and have a choice of grits ready to go. I suppose you could stick those little felt feet on the bottom if you want.

At the moment I use a smooth, stiff piece of sheet metal that was originally made for use as a street sign. I simply wet the paper and that holds it down well enough, but I do want something a little nicer at some point.

Just don't drop it.
 
when i was about 13 years old i started out using a piece of glass with a 1/4 sheet of wetordry paper on it. i used that for many years and it worked just fine. i would get an assortment of grits from coarse to fine even though i never went above 400. i would finish off the knives i sharpened with a single ceramic stick so i never needed anything above 400.
 
I went to my local Cole's Hardware (not Kohl's department store) and picked up some glass. Picked up my sandpaper at the local Walmart, but I had that before I bought the glass. Adhesive sounds better than the painters tape I have been using. Just a bit messy?
 
richard j said:
when i was about 13 years old i started out using a piece of glass with a 1/4 sheet of wetordry paper on it. i used that for many years and it worked just fine. i would get an assortment of grits from coarse to fine even though i never went above 400. i would finish off the knives i sharpened with a single ceramic stick so i never needed anything above 400.
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All - Thanks, for the information!
Richard - As a knifemaker and pro sharpener, I would love to know some details as noted in my original post: :confused: :confused:
Thickness?
Adhesive?
Tempered?
Beveled edges?
etc. etc.
The devil is in the details! :)
Thanks,
Dave
 
that was many years ago so i'm not sure about the glass thickness and it wasnt tempered. i had my dad cut down for me so i could put a 1/4 sheet of paper on it. i did sand the sharp edges down so i wouldnt get cut.

i dont think i used glue but i think i had taped the corners at an angle to hold it tight and had it on a wet rag so it wouldnt slide. i did use rubber cement to hold abrasive paper to my desk for mirror polishing the knife i made for kalama so i think it would work on the glass (picture of this knife is in my visitors message in my profile)

a single ceramic stick is all i needed to get a shaving sharp edge on any knife i sharpened on the glass. i still use one to touch up kitchen knives. the wheels are what i use now since my hands bother me too bad to do any hand sharpening.
 
The only thing to be careful about is to clean everything well between grits. If you get a coarse grit grain stuck on the finer grit paper, it will create deeper scratches and you've contaminated the sandpaper.
 
Dusty One said:
Do you think a piece of 1/4" corian or masonite would work ?
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Masonite is smooth on one side but, at 1/4" thick, is going to flex a lot, unless you back it with something more rigid & truely flat. Not to mention, you wouldn't be able to use it wet, as some folks like to do with wet/dry paper. I'd think corian, at that same thickness, would also flex quite a bit and probably won't be true flat.

That's the advantage of glass. It's smooth, rigid, impervious to water and nearly perfectly flat, all in one. Just have to be careful not to bear down too hard on it.

Edited to add:
With regard to corian, when I'd posted my reply above, I must've had something else in mind. I've been reading a little about it since, and it seems interesting. More 'stone-like' (albeit synthetic) than I'd previously assumed. For some reason, I'd thought it was a material that was softer and/or more flexible. Not so, apparently. Maybe it will work well here...
 
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DavidZ said:
How large of a piece of glass do you use, and what thickness?
Is it regular house pane glass, or some special tempered stuff?
Do you have the edges beveled? or rounded?
Click to expand...

I haven't sharpened using this method, but I am familiar with glass (father is a glazier) so I'll just answer the bits about glass.

Size of the glass is really up to you. I don't think thickness really matters so long as you're careful with it.

Regular or laminated glass should work just fine. Tempered glass cannot be cut, so you would have to buy it in stock sizes or special order.

I would just sand the edges down so that they're not sharp, but not round or bevel them. Rounding/beveling the edges would just make it harder to sharpen the base of the blade.

To get your glass, check out glass shops (companies that install windows, shower doors, etc). They likely have a lot of scraps large enough for your use.
 
I use this method often. For adhesive, I use a white glue stick, the sort intended for paper. It washes off the glass plate with plain water, but holds down a sheet of sandpaper perfectly. If you want something even smoother, graphic artists use a spray adhesive that is temporary.

The only reason to bevel the glass is to avoid getting cut. Felt or rubber feet will keep it from sliding around, but so will a rubber mat.

Thicker glass is preferable to thin as it's stronger and will take more abuse. A steel plate will work just as well as the glass. So will a hardwood board providing it has been surface planned for flatness and is thick enough not to warp.

Stitchawl
 
Thanks all for your input! :thumbup:
A special big thanks to richard J for all of the information during our phone call last night. :thumbup: :thumbup: I really appreciate it. :)
I will be stopping at the hardware store on the way home tonight to get some .250" glass. I will keep you updated.
Thanks,
Dave
 
. Remember sharpening on the sandpaper is a trailing stroke like stropping .
...........................Why ?
 
Dusty One said:
. Remember sharpening on the sandpaper is a trailing stroke like stropping .
...........................Why ?
Click to expand...

You'll likely cut the sandpaper, if you use an edge-leading stroke (as on a stone). I think some of the 'experts' might occasionally use edge-leading, but you have to keep pressure light and don't let the angle get too steep. Otherwise, you'll slice right through the paper.
 
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